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WIMBLEDON, England -- It was a successful main draw debut at Wimbledon for Canadian Eugenie Bouchard. The Montreal native rallied to defeat Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Monday. Bouchard fired 29 winners and broke her opponents serve three times, coming back after losing the opening set and again in the third set after losing an early break. She had 25 unforced errors and three aces. "It was a tough battle," Bouchard said. "I didnt play my best but fought my hardest. I came close to losing but I was able to fight my way back. Im happy for that." Later Monday, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil, ranked No. 99, beat 131st-ranked Marc Giquel of France 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3). Bouchard lost the first set when she sent a backhand long, but took the second against the 88th-ranked Voskoboeva after nearly an hour as she rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the tiebreaker. In the third, Bouchard went up a break only to lose it three games later on a forehand error. But she got the break back for 5-4 and served out to win a game later on the first of three match points. "In the end I think I broke (Voskoboeva) down a bit," Bouchard said. "I know she has a bit of a temper and I could see that after she lost the second set. That didnt bother me, but it did give me energy. "I was confident and calm and felt I could outlsast her -- which I did." Bouchard is playing in the womens draw for the first time after winning the junior crown last year. Her win came despite her modest grass-court season, with the teenager winning one round in a lower-level event in Nottingham and one qualifying round at Eastbourne. Bouchard will face former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in the second round. The 12th-seeded Ivanovic defeated Virginie Razzano of France 7-6 (1), 6-0 on Monday. "Im looking forward to playing Ivanovic in the next round but I have to play better than today," Bouchard said. "I need to fight a lot. Shes a great player and Im excited to be facing her." Pospisil used a dominant serve in his match, firing 25 aces. He also made 30 unforced errors to Giquels 28. After picking up the victory, Pospisil said he played "one of the better matches" of his career. "I played great, every part of my game was sharp," he said. "I was pleased with my level of aggression, being able to stay relaxed and seeing the game really well. "I was playing very fast and making (Giquel) uncomfortable." For the 23-year-old Pospisil, this year marks his second time at the All England Club. He was eliminated in the first round in his Wimbledon debut last year. Pospisil will face Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in the second round. Watch exclusive bonus online coverage throughout the competition on TSN.ca, including full coverage of select matches not being televised. Jamal Crawford Jersey . 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The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Jimmy Butler Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Halfway through his maiden Test double-hundred, against India in Ahmedabad in 2008, AB de Villiers told Jacques Kallis about a shot he had mastered. He referred not to a cut or sweep, lap or ramp, not to one of those outlandish pick-up shots that a hockey player would try if handed a tennis racquet. No. De Villiers was talking about the far more humble defensive block.A helmeted de Villiers, bat in hand, pink pads on, ready for a hit in an indoor net, recounts the moment via a video clip on cricketyard.com. If I could have my career over again, he says, this will be the first shot that Ill teach myself: the late block. Once you can play this shot, everything else will come naturally to you… Every shot I play, I set up to play a really late defensive stroke.De Villiers goes on to demonstrate how he shapes up for each ball - bat pointing to first slip, backlift raised high at the point of the bowlers release, set to meet the full ball with a late block, before letting his reflexes take over. If the ball is wide, he will allow his hands to flow. If short, he will cut or pull as per instinct. I dont have a defensive mindset when I do it, he says of setting up for the defensive block. All I know is, that is my best chance of getting into a really, really good position for my other strokes. And if its a really good ball, I will sort of succumb to the bowler and say, Listen, well bowled, Im going to do the late shot. And I might still get off strike if it runs down to third man.Process that for a second. The most versatile shot-maker in the game - with the capacity, it seems, to hit any ball, of any length, in any format, to any part of the ground - has a method rooted in a textbook forward-defensive. The shot that results may go against the dictums of cricketing geometry - not to mention the laws of physics - but until the ball is delivered, de Villiers adopts a tried-and-tested approach. Only when he is ready to defend - visualising a box in front of him, within whose boundaries he keeps his bat, feet and head - does he consider the possibility of attack.The world of batting abounds with such contradiction. Most of the analysis (from commentators and writers) is little but informed guesswork. A lot of it is convenient categorisation. Spectators may term a firm push back to the bowler as a defensive shot, but a batsman may think differently. For him, picking the ball out of the hand, reading length early, taking a purposeful stride and finding the middle of the bat may all be signs of aggression. Similarly, commentators may assumme a batsman is confident when he strides out, but he could be putting on an act when actually being wracked with insecurity.dddddddddddd A batsmans body language, his strokes, his response to a bowler mouthing off, all this is only one part of the story. When one observes said batsman at practice and listens to him deconstruct his method, when one speaks to his team-mates and coaches, keeping in mind past batting successes and failures as well as critical junctures in his career, only then does the full picture emerge. And that too is often work in progress.There was a time when journalists (and players) explored these themes in books (and autobiographies). The amount of time available between tours allowed for deep analysis, and the terrific rapport between cricketers and writers enabled colour and insight. These days there is barely time to hammer out match reports, let alone examine spells and innings. Journalists have to make do with press-conference mutterings and the occasional one-on-one. Backroom access is almost out of the question.Which brings us to this months cover story: Ed Smiths meticulous exploration of technique and coaching in the age of the dazzling bat. Smith is a former Test cricketer who draws upon his technical and tactical know-how. He is an aesthete who is well versed with the games evolution, able to link a Virat Kohli cover drive to an image of Geoff Boycott taking his stance.Earlier this year, Smith worked as a consultant to Royal Challengers Bangalore, getting a ringside view of some of the finest limited-overs batsmen of our (and all) time. Which put him in an enviable position - not only because he was able to watch batsmen of the calibre of de Villiers and Kohli from close range but also because he could shadow them at practice, observe them at team meetings and listen to what team-mates had to say about them. Inside knowledge isnt always right, Smith cautions. But about pure talent, people close to the subject tend to know. Ask cricketers to name the games freak, theyll say AB. When de Villiers walks into a room, you sense exactly that. He does not signal this pre-eminence himself. It is written on everyone else.There is much else to savour in this issue: a cracking history of Pakistanis in the north Staffordshire leagues, the little-known story of Don Bradman meeting Kerry Packer, a Garry Sobers retrospective, and five writers on how cricket broke their hearts. ' ' '